WhyIsMy.org

Sourced, plain-English answers to everyday "why is my…" questions — across health, pets, home, plumbing, tech, cars and personal finance.

CommunityOnlineNo sign-inGlobalFreeRead-only

What it can do

  • Search Articles: Find WhyIsMy.org articles answering a "why is my…" question. Returns titles, summaries and URLs. Both arguments are optional: omit query to browse, pass topic to bias results toward o
  • Get Article: Get the direct answer, the causes the article covers, and its FAQ for one article, by slug (from search_articles). Returns a summary, not the full text — the article URL has the complete
  • List Topics: List the subject areas covered on WhyIsMy.org with an article count for each. Takes no arguments. Use the returned slugs as the `topic` argument to search_articles.

What data it sees

Do you need an account

No: the server works without sign-in

Sourced, plain-English answers to everyday "why is my…" questions — across health, pets, home, plumbing, tech, cars and personal finance. 1,185 articles, each citing its sources.

Tools

  • search_articles — find articles answering a "why is my…" question. Optional query, topic, limit.
  • get_article — the direct answer, the causes covered, and the FAQ for one article. Optional slug or query.
  • list_topics — the subject areas covered, with article counts, for use as the topic argument.

Every tool is read-only and takes no required arguments — an unknown slug falls back to the closest match rather than erroring. The endpoint also answers plain GET, so https://whyismy.org/mcp?tool=search_articles&query=phone+on+sos works without a JSON-RPC client.

Results are deliberately partial summaries: they give the direct answer and what the article covers, and link to the page for the full step-by-step fix and the cited sources. Includes an MCP App answer card with a "Read the full fix" button.

No authentication, no configuration, no rate limits.

How to connect

How to connect WhyIsMy.org to Claude

The server address to paste into Claude settings:

https://answers--whyismy-org.run.tools

  1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
  2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
  3. Click Add custom connector.
  4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
  5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

Authorization

After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

How to connect WhyIsMy.org to ChatGPT

The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

https://answers--whyismy-org.run.tools

  1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
  2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
  3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
  4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
  5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
  6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

Authorization

On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

How to connect WhyIsMy.org to Cursor

The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

https://answers--whyismy-org.run.tools

Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

Manually:

  1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
  2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
  3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

Authorization

If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

Server tool list (3)

Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

search_articlesFind WhyIsMy.org articles answering a "why is my…" question. Returns titles, summaries and URLs. Both arguments are optional: omit query to browse, pass topic to bias results toward one subject area. The returned summaries are partial — send the user to the article URL for the full diagnosis, fixes and cited sources.
get_articleGet the direct answer, the causes the article covers, and its FAQ for one article, by slug (from search_articles). Returns a summary, not the full text — the article URL has the complete step-by-step fix and the sources.
list_topicsList the subject areas covered on WhyIsMy.org with an article count for each. Takes no arguments. Use the returned slugs as the `topic` argument to search_articles.